Blanket Ninja
by kittyfitz01
Summary: One-shot. 5 year old Araile has to deal with Kakashi going out on a one week mission. How will she survive?


Birds chirping filled Araile's sleepy 5 year old mind as the sun rose high in the sky.

Opening one golden eye, she rolled over in her bed with a small '_huff_', the child's mind still on sleeping. It was very important to get as much sleep as possible for a very independent 5 year old such as herself.

One small ear twitched as footsteps were heard throughout the house that she shared with her caretaker Kakashi Hatake. He was always good to Araile, but sometimes she would get annoyed with the copy ninja. He just wouldn't give her the right amount of candy that Araile's young mind desired!

Some nonsense about not being healthy enough.

Heaving a sigh, Araile slowly rolled out of bed until her foot reached the ground, and then the other foot. Soon, she stood up and walked out of her bedroom, rubbing one eye.

A large yawn crept out of her as she sleepily headed for the kitchen, feet dragging with each step.

Lifting herself up on the chair was a quest in itself, but Araile always demanded that she had to get on it herself like all grown ups did. Araile a grown up too...just smaller then everyone else.

Finally she achieved her goal of getting on the chair and leaned her chin on the kitchen table and watched Kakashi move back and forth, getting things ready.

"Good morning Araile. I have a mission that the Hokage needs me to do, so I won't be back for some time" he said as he put some cereal in front of her.

"Where are you going?" Araile chirped as she began eating the cereal; legs swinging back and forth under the table.

"To a village in the far south" Kakashi answered as he continued moving things back and forth.

"Wnff oof coning baff?" Araile asked, mouth full of food.

"Swallow, Araile" Kakashi reminded her, turning around and smiling with his one exposed eye.

Swallowing, she tried again.

"When are you coming back?" Araile asked as she continued swinging her small legs, enjoying the momentum of the action.

"In a week hopefully" Kakashi answered as he picked up his empty backpack from the floor and put it on the counter.

"That's a long time! That's one...two...three...four...five days! Wow five days!" she exclaimed as she counted on her fingers.

Araile's math wasn't very good, but it was a work in progress.

"Close enough" Kakashi smiled and continued his packing.

Humming, Araile continued eating her breakfast as her tail twitched back and forth. Once in a while she'd tap her spoon on the bowl and giggle at the sound. A knock on the door caused Araile's head to snap around to the door, and she leapt from the chair and ran to the door.

Opening the door, she squealed with happiness as her babysitter Hikaru stood there. Hikaru smiled and caught the child's outstretched arms, picking her up in the process as she walked inside.

"Good morning Kakashi-san. All ready for your mission?" Hikaru asked as she put Araile down.

"Yes, everything seems to be in place. I'll be home in a week's time hopefully if everything goes well. You know where everything is" Kakashi smiled and headed for the door.

"Wait! Kakashi! Wait!" Araile shouted as she ran from her bedroom to where the two adults stood.

Kakashi scooped Araile up as she wrapped her arms around him, squeezing the copy ninja with all her 5 year old might. Chuckling, Kakashi continued to hold Araile as he managed to get his bag on his shoulder. She pressed her nose against his vest and inhaled.

It smelled like Kakashi, and he smelled like home and safety and fun.

"I have to go now, Araile. Be good for Hikaru-chan" Kakashi said as he put Araile on the ground.

Araile nodded and grabbed Hikaru's hand, and waved with her free hand as Kakashi walked down the stairs and into the busy Konoha street.

"Well now, I think it's time for a big girl to get dressed now, don't you think?" Hikaru said as she closed the front door and walked to Araile's bedroom; the 5 year old trailing behind.

"What do you think of this? Do you want to wear this shirt?" Hikaru asked as she held up a bright yellow shirt with blue lines on it.

"No"

"This?" to a green shirt.

"Nope"

"Aww, you'd look adorable in this one!" to a light blue dress.

"Nu uh"

"Okay...how about this dress?" Hikaru said as she held up a white dress.

Araile perked up and nodded eagerly to that one, making Hikaru laugh; Araile wore this dress almost everyday. Araile pulled off her nightshirt and tugged the dress on, very proud that she could dress herself like an adult.

"Now, let's work on the hair, shall we?" Hikaru said as she took a brush out of her bag, and Araile sat down in front of her.

* * *

As the day went on, Araile began to wonder how long Kakashi would take before he came home.

Maybe after dinner?

Maybe after her bath?

Or maybe after you she ready for bed?

It had almost been the entire day, and Araile didn't see the grey hair of her caretaker anywhere. Kakashi said he'd be gone a week, and that was a long time to a 5 year old.

As Hikaru got dinner ready, Araile got up on the couch and leaned her chin against her hands as she stared out the window; watching for Kakashi's return. The tip of her tail twitched slightly as Araile watched the streets for Kakashi's return.

"Araile? Dinner is ready" Hikaru shouted from the kitchen.

"Okay!" Araile shouted back and she jumped off the couch and skipped all the way to the kitchen.

Hikaru was a pretty good cook, and Araile gladly ate what she had cooked up.

As bedtime approached, Araile got into her bed and buried under the covers. As Hikaru came to tuck Araile in, the 5 year old poked her head through the blankets.

"Hikaru? When is Kakashi coming back?" Araile asked quietly.

"In a week, sweetie. Don't worry, it'll go by fast" Hikaru smiled and turned off the light, bidding the little girl goodnight.

Sighing, Araile turned over and closed her eyes, falling asleep.

* * *

As the week went by, Araile's mood began to decrease bit by bit until she were a cranky 5 year old. Her temper flared with the slightest thing, and for the first time Hikaru had to put Araile in a time-out after a particularly nasty tantrum.

This caused the girl to go into hysterics for ten minutes.

When she were done, she were reduced to sniffles and shiny eyes.

Hikaru tried to help and comfort Araile. She knew it was because Araile missed Kakashi, but sometimes she just had to sigh at the girl's tantrums.

On the last night of Kakashi's absence, Araile had another temper tantrum.

Hikaru cooked something that Araile didn't want for dinner, and her mind snapped. Screaming, Araile pushed her chair over and ran out of the kitchen and into her bedroom, crying hysterically. She jumped up onto her bed and continued screaming and crying, kicking the blanket and pillow off the bed.

After Araile cried herself out, she lay on her stomach as her thumb situated itself into the sniffling girl's mouth. Araile hadn't sucked on her thumb in a long time, but right now it was the only thing that was keeping her calm. After a short while, her eyes slowly closed as exhaustion tugged at her body.

Unknown to Araile, Hikaru quietly walked into her room and situated the blanket over the small girl. The front door opened and closed, and Hikaru walked out to see who came in. She greeted the person quietly, and then gathered her things and left.

* * *

When Araile opened her eyes, sunlight streamed through the window and cascaded onto her arm. Sometime during the night, someone had pulled the blanket over her body, and Araile had rolled herself into the fabric.

It encased Araile's body like a soft cocoon.

Someone quietly entered her bedroom, causing Araile's ear to twitch. Her mattress shifted as the person sat down beside her, and Araile turned over in curiosity. Blinking, she realized that it wasn't Hikaru that came to wake her up. A wide, sleepy smile split across Araile's face as she realized that Kakashi had finally come back!

"Kakashi! You're back!" Araile yelped as she threw herself on his lap, hugging her caretaker with all of her 5 year old strength.

Araile could feel Kakashi chuckling as he put a hand on her head.

"My mission finished early" he said.

"Cause you're the best ninja!" Araile chirped happily, tail swishing back and forth.

"You're a ninja too, Araile" Kakashi said, patting the girl's head.

"Huh? I am?" Araile asked, confused.

"Oh yes. You're a fierce blanket ninja" Kakashi smiled and tugged on the blanket enclosure to prove his point.

The room was filled with Araile's laughter at that.

Not only was her caretaker back, but she were a fierce blanket ninja!

...whatever that meant.


End file.
